| Harold Gatty |
| Wiley Post and Harold Gatty caught in the rain, but safely back at, Roosevelt Field Long Island, NY after almost nine-days. |
| Often original ideas are nearly forgotten in the blaze of glory for those who demonstrate them to the public. For every great pilot's many achievements there is someone who enabled the flier to succeed because of their extraordinary insight and skills. Such an enabler is Harold Gatty, who made a difference in how world history evolved. Harold Gatty's understanding of the visible Universe and its relation to our home planet was the foundation for his creative concepts of how individuals might locate themselves anywhere on this earth. He was truly a new pioneer in an ancient art--naviagation. He was a unique leader as the known principles were applied to navigating air vehicles. He understood celestial and world geometry, gaining the added problems imposed by flight. Born at Campbell Town, Tasmania in 1903, Gatty was one of the few pioneering aviators who successfully turned their skills to commercial aviation, yet his career was dogged by controversy when he established the South Pacific route for Pan Am and introduced American commercial aircraft to Australia. His official recognition in Australia has been slight because he was seen as a friend of the Americans, working against Australia's interests. Gatty must be recognised as a significant member of a team of aeronautical pioneers who produced a technological storm that has swept the world, that is, the use of aircraft for day to day transport. He was adventurous enough to participate directly while still introducing major new ideas to accelerate the momentum of the aerial revolution. With todays GPS satellites and receivers there is little need to depend on the message of the North Star and the celestial population of stars. Had he lived, Harold would certainly have gloried in adding that capability for those he taught to navigate the sky and for those he taught to find land from a life raft on a vast ocean, successfully. |
| "...the Prince of Navigators" |
| More to come |
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Movietone Newsreel interview with Post & Getty Winnie Mae in the crowd at the left
| The Distinguished Flying Cross Awarded to Harold Gatty "[H]eroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight" Presented to Harold Gatty and Wiley Post by President Herbert Hoover, August 18, 1932. |
| The Harold Gatty Memorial at Campbell Town, Tasmania Australia |
| "Your successful world girdling flight is a striking contribution to aeronautical progress. It is dramatic testimony to the efficiency and reliability of American aircraft. It demonstrates vividly how modern science is making neighbours of all the nations of the world. All America is proud of you in the hour of your extraordinary success. You have enhanced faith in the art of flying and the science of air navigation. I congratulate you most heartily on your achievement." - President Herbert Hoover at White House dinner, July 6, 1931 |
| Photos courtesy of Len Bessell of Campbell Town |
| Vist Harold Gatty's home town...click above. For more Gatty history, click here . |
| "If Harold Gatty were alive today, I'd say that because he always had an interest in cutting-edge technology, he'd be doing one of two things. He'd either be working with Bill Gates in the United States or he'd have a record as the first Australian-born astronaut on the space shuttle. That's my view". Bruce Brown, Author of Prince of Navigators. |
| Wiley Post Commission Creates Gatty World Aviation Award |
Artist's rendering of the Harold Gatty World Aviation Medal. |
| The Wiley Post Commission announced the creation of the Harold Gatty World Medal. The award was created as compliment to the prestigious Wiley Post Spirit Award, which honors those who have exhibited the same innovative and pioneering spirit as Wiley Post. “There are those in aviation who always stand at the edge of the spotlight and seldom, if ever, get to share the spotlight with the great pilots whose exploits we know so well. I call them the ‘enablers’. They are the engineers, mechanics, the movers and shakers who make aviation possible,” said Bob Kemper Director of the Wiley Post Commission. “Never has there been an international public forum in recognition of their efforts,” Kemper added. The Gatty World Aviation Medal is in honor of the Australian, Harold Gatty who flew with Wiley Post and whose understanding of the visible universe and its relation to our home planet was the foundation for his creative concepts of how individuals might locate themselves anywhere on this earth. He was truly a new pioneer in the ancient art of navigation. He was a unique leader as the known principles were applied to navigating air vehicles. He understood celestial and world geometry, gaining the added problems imposed by flight. Gatty must be recognized as a significant member of a team of aeronautical pioneers who produced a technological storm that has swept the world, that is, the use of aircraft for day to day transport. He was adventurous enough to participate directly while still introducing major new ideas to accelerate the momentum of the aerial revolution. The Gatty World Medal will be presented in conjunction with the Wiley Post Spirit Award Banquet to be held in Oklahoma City, January 25, 2008. |
| Right center: Wiley Post, President Herbert Hoover and Harold Gatty |